Episode 1

Featuring an ensemble cast of brilliant new talent, Top Boy is Ronan Bennett's four-part drama about young people living on the edge and, for the most part, out of sight in east London today. Thrilling, raw, frightening, sad, hopeful and surprisingly funny by turn, this original drama is an honest and gripping rendition of inner-city life set in a world we think we know, but that most people rarely see or understand. On London's Summerhouse Estate, lives are lived along lines, and challenges come in all forms, even - especially - for kids. Thirteen-year-old Ra'Nell finds he has to step up and be a man when his mother Lisa has a breakdown and is hospitalised. At the same time his mum's friend Heather, enlists his help in a dangerous plan she has concocted to give her unborn baby the chances she never had - even if it means doing one wrong thing to get to the right place. Meanwhile, in the courtyards of the Summerhouse Estate a thriving but underground drugs business is being run by Dushane and his friend Sully. Charming, sexy and clever, 26-year-old Dushane has already run out of things to be - except this. When he attracts the attention of the operation's king pin Bobby Raikes, he seizes an opportunity to be more, to have more, to be Top Boy. But others will pay a heavy price for Dushane's ambitions, including Ra'Nell's best friend, the guileless and vulnerable Gem, members of Dushane's own family and an innocent young man whose only offence is to be related to Dushane's deadly rival Kamale. As Dushane and Sully's fight for control of Summerhouse escalates, Ra'Nell finds himself caught in the crossfire - with devastating consequences. Continues tomorrow. Including a short Ramadan Reflections film from Channel 4's 4Ramadan season, followed by the dawn call to prayer. Every morning just before sunrise, to start the day's fasting, a short film offers a unique insight into what Ramadan means for different individuals. From imams to architects, and feminists to former rock chicks, each provides food for thought...